Essence of Kinship
by Lusitania
Summary: A Dustin/Zoey family fic. Busy with the midterm paper, Zoey forgets Dustin's birthday. A simple issue turns bad when an accident happens and one them becomes the victim of an unfortunate event.
1. Negligence

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Zoey 101" nor do I own any of its characters**

**A/N: This is my first Zoey 101 story. This account is created under the observation that there is not much Dustin fantictions within the archive. **

**The Essence of Kinship**

**Negligence**

Zoey rapidly pressed the buttons across the keyboard of her laptop. She's currently cramming for her midterm paper that is due in about three days time. This research paper is worth 40% of her total grade. True, she's made good for the remaining 60% of her grade and has created a good cushion of support just in case she gets a bad grade in the research paper. However, she wants to get a grade of no less than A- for this subject.

"I knew I shouldn't have gone to that book convention" she told herself. A big time book convention went to town last week and she spent a LOT of time interviewing authors here and there, getting autographs up and down the convention. Before she knew it, time has frowned upon her and a need to put her into overdrive became apparent.

Truth be told, she already finished half of it and even if she were to stop now, she can still finish it tomorrow, or the next day. However, she decided to push through with it and finish the entire paper today so she can relax on the other days.

"Hi Zoey!" Quinn's familiar voice entered the four corners of the room. "Writing the midterm paper?"

"Yeah…" Zoey replied in a monotonous voice. "How about you? You finished with your paper?" it wasn't a question borne out of interest. It was a question that was voiced out just for the sake of it.

"Yeah" Quinn went to her bunk and started taking out some stuff from her bag. Tomorrow is Dustin's birthday and since he's helped her many times with her experiments before, the young scientist feels compelled to buy the boy a birthday present "I hope you're not so focused on that midterm paper that you forget tomorrow's special event"

"Mm" was all she got from Zoey as a reply as the blonde girl continued to type. Shrugging it off, Quinn went out of the dorm room with a laptop and her toolbox in hand. There's no need to nag Zoey about Dustin's birthday, after all, it is nearly impossible to forget your only blood relation's (at least a blood relation that you regularly see) special day.

* * *

"Bye Dustin"

"Bye" Dustin waved goodbye to his friends as he headed for the opposite direction.

"Dustin!!!"

The blonde boy turned around to see Quinn walking towards him with some things in her hand.

"Hey Quinn, What's up?" he asked, although he already has a rough and painful idea on what the young scientist have in mind. After all, she has her toolbox and laptop with her which means she wants to perform some weird experiment. And since she called him, it means that he's her chosen lab rat.

"Hi…" the young scientist grinned at the boy just in front of her "…your birthday's coming up…."

"Uh-huh"

"So, I figured I need to buy you a present" Quinn's grin started widening, which made the boy in front of her quite nervous "the _perfect_ present"

"You don't have to do that. Zoey is taking me to the new Oceanarium tomorrow so I'll be gone half of the day so you don't have to bother yourself with what I want…" wanting to get out of whatever the four-eyed girl has in mind, Dustin figured that he should act like a humble celebrant "…anything will do" he took a step back.

"Nonsense!!!" Quinn grabbed his hand "…come on, I'll try to unlock your perfect present with my new device" with that, she dragged the celebrant towards the lab.

"N-new device" the boy asked nervously as he is being dragged to the lab by the scientist.

"Yup…" the dark haired girl replied "…it is a device that captures minute changes in the brain. You see, my hypothesis is that mini brain reactions occur when people see something that they like or dislike. So, in order to know what you want, I'll show you a series of pictures and my device will see if you like it or not"

"Why not just ask me what I like or don't like?" he's really desperate to get out of this situation. Every time Quinn has an experiment, he usually emerges with a bad hair day—and that's the least that can happen

The young scientist stopped in her tracks to look at the boy with a 'are you stupid' face "Where's the fun in that?" with that said, she resumed dragging the boy towards the lab.

* * *

"Damn, today's rehearsal was a killer" Lola entered their dorm room, seeing Zoey in the computer.

"I know" Zoey replied in a zombie like manner, eyes fixated on the screen, hands typing rapidly across the keyboard.

The aspiring actress gave the blonde a puzzled look "Uh Zoey, you're not part of the drama club…how can you know how tiring rehearsals are?"

"I don't…" the blonde girl replied, not really taking any interest in the matter "…but if pretending to relate to you would make it easier for me to focus then fire away"

Lola raised an eyebrow "Okay…" Zoey's been rather moody lately. Ever since she found out that the midterm is due in a few days, her mood suddenly turned from cheery to just plain cranky. "…Someone's a little moody"

"I'm not moody…" finally, Zoey rested her hands on her hips and turned towards the aspiring actress. She needs to rest her fingers since they've been typing away all day "…I'm just in a hurry. I need to finish this in three days time. Until then, all other issues must be put on hold"

"Even very important issues" Lola raised her eyebrow again, knowing that Dustin's birthday is coming up.

"This IS a very important issue, the most important of them all" with that said, Zoey resumed to typing across the keyboard. "So don't go nagging me about any other issues"

"Okay" shrugging it off, Lola went to her bed and started reading magazines. It's hot outside, the sushi rox restaurant is crowded and every other hang-out spot has been seared by the sun. She chose not to nag Zoey about Dustin's birthday. After all, she's exhibited herself as an ideal sister. This means that chances are, she won't let a stupid midterm paper get in the way of her brother's birthday.

* * *

"Well, I can safely conclude that today's experiment was a success" Quinn smiled to herself as she exited the lab, equipment nicely organized back in her bag. She was followed by Dustin, with a very bad hair style.

Dustin looked at the scientist with an 'are-you-kidding-me' stare. His hair went from his usual clean hairstyle to Frankenstein mixed with Einstein. "Success? Maybe for you! You showed me images that a minor like me shouldn't even think about!"

"Oh you're so uptight…" Quinn shrugged as she left the building and headed for their dorm room. Dustin, on the other hand, headed towards the boy's room to fix his hair.

"Man, this is messed up" the blonde boy whispered to no one in particular as he started to fix his already disheveled hair. A few toggles here and there, some minor adjustments and his hair are back in its usual form (albeit not as good as before but the changes are just a few minor split ends). Once finished, he decided to go to Zoey so that they can arrange the trip tomorrow.

* * *

"I'm back" Quinn entered their dorm room, equipment in her hands.

"Hey" Lola smiled at her from the bunk "whatcha been up to?"

"Oh nothing" the young scientist have no reason to tell Lola what she did. If she did, then the aspiring actress would question what she got as a result and would buy the present for Dustin before her. Quinn could still remember the time when Lola asked her what Zoey liked and she told her. The next day, Lola came with a present similar to her. The scientist has no intention of repeating the same incident with Dustin's birthday.

"Could you guys keep it down?!" Zoey interrupted, her voice laced with anger and irritation.

Quinn gave Lola a questioning look.

"She's been in that computer since this morning so now, she's crankier as that chemistry teacher last semester"

The aspiring actress answered her friend's silent question.

Quinn's face turned to worry. She knows that when a person is too focused on something, he/she can forget other things—even important things. "Uh, Zoey, I don't mean to nag but did you forget—"

"Zoey?" Dustin's familiar voice interrupted Quinn's speech as it entered the room, accompanied by a light knock on the opened door.

"_**WHAT?!!**_" Zoey snapped as she turned around to glare at the intruder.

Dustin was taken aback by his sister's sudden outburst "Uh…um…I just figured that we should talk about our plans for tomorrow"

"Tomorrow, I plan to rest, Dustin because by tomorrow this paper is done because I'll finish this research paper today…" The blonde girl gritted her teeth. There have been so many intrusions today it's like the entire world is going against her "…but you see, I can't finish this today if you people _**KEEP BUGGING ME!!!"**_

Lola, Quinn and Dustin all have the same expression; a look of shock. Dustin was also mixed with a look of hurt and rejection. "O-oh, okay…well….sorry for the intrusion" with that, the boy turned around and left.

To be continued

Please review


	2. Sacrifice

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Zoey 101" nor do I own any of its characters**

**A/N: This is my first Zoey 101 story. This account is created under the observation that there is not much Dustin fantictions within the archive. **

**The Essence of Kinship**

**Sacrifice**

If their jaws weren't attached to their skulls, then Quinn and Lola could've sworn they would drop to the ground. After seeing Zoey's burst of anger towards her little brother, they both landed on the conclusion that she DID forget of the boy's birthday.

Scientist and actress looked at each other as soon as Zoey turned around and resumed typing in her computer.

"Did she just?" Lola pointed at Zoey, a look of disbelief in her face.

"Yes, she did" Quinn nodded, a look of disappointment painted across her face.

Deciding that it's about time to take action on the issue at hand, Quinn and Lola made their way towards Zoey's table and folded the computer by pushing the lid of her laptop closed.

"HEY!!!" The blonde yelled as she retracted her hand from the half closed computer "WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?!!"

"You forgot didn't you?!" Lola started off what they knew would be a painful argument.

"I can't believe you forgot such an important event!!!" Quinn continued "and what's worse, you _yelled _at him!"

"What are you two talking about?!" Zoey's face contorted to that of bewilderment, not really getting what they're trying to say.

Both of her companions looked at each other before the bespectacled one took the desk calendar concealed by the laptop and showed it to Zoey, pointing at the encircled date of tomorrow with bright red ink which read 'Dustin's 13th birthday'

Zoey's expression turned from confusion to shock and nervousness. "Oh my god…" she looked at her two roommates with eyes similar to that of a scared puppy "…tell me I didn't just yell at my brother who's about to have his birthday in less that 24 hours"

Lola and Quinn only gave the blonde girl an apologetic and disappointed look. Apparently, it was the only answer Zoey needed for her to realize the full extent of the issue.

Mumbling a quick 'shit' to herself, Zoey dashed out of their room to run after her brother "DUSTIN!!! DUSTIN!!! DUUUSTIIIIIIIN!!!!"

* * *

Dustin let out another controlled exhale from the cubicle. He's currently in the washroom of the building. Although this particular building is primarily built for women in PCA, it still has a few restrooms for male so that boys visiting their girlfriends wouldn't have to run all the way to the next building just to relieve their bladder.

He came here not to relieve his bladder but to organize his thoughts and try to prevent himself from crying. Personally, he has no idea why he's feeling grief. Is it disappointment? Rejection? Pure Sorrow? His feelings are in one big gigantic blur. One thing's for certain, it's not anger. Personally, he has no idea why but he just can't bring himself to hate his sister.

"Oh man" wiping out some stray tears from his eyes, he exited the bathroom and headed for the exit of the dorm. _'She's just busy and forgot about it…'_ Dustin convinced himself, trying to defend his sister from his own thoughts _'…I'm sure she just said that in the heat of the moment'_

* * *

"STACEY!!!" Zoey ran towards the familiar girl. She's been searching the perimeter near their room for her little brother but with no luck which means, he must've gone to a considerable distance "Have you seen Dustin?"

"Yeah, I think he went downstairs to—"

"Okay thanks" Zoey didn't need to hear anymore from the other girl as she rushed to the nearest staircase she could find. She needs to apologize to him, Badly!!! How could she have forgotten such an event over a stupid project that she could finish in less than one day?

The blonde girl tried not to get eaten by the building guilt inside her and tried to focus on finding her little brother as soon as possible. Dustin's been looking forward to their trip ever since the opening of the oceanarium last month and since then, he's been excited about his birthday especially when she promised to take him there, since Dustin cannot leave campus without adult supervision.

"DUSTIN!!!" She yelled as she turned to a corner, still not seeing the familiar blonde head of her brother. "Where are you" Zoey whispered to no one. She's getting more and more desperate. What if he hates her for this? What if he never speaks to her again? So many thoughts lingered in her mind, each worse than the other. She doesn't want to loose him...to her, he's one of a kind.

Dustin is quite unique from all his other batch mates. He's not ashamed of his bigger sister, he doesn't engage himself in several demeaning actions and although he gets into trouble sometimes; he still retained that innocent and naïve personality she loves so much. And apparently, most girls, from the same age bracket as he is, love that quality as well. Lola has many younger colleagues from the drama club nagging her about Dustin's number. If she looses Dustin because of a research paper, she'll never be able to live it down.

"DUSTIN!" She called, for the umpteenth time. Arriving to the conclusion that her little brother is no longer inside the dorm, she headed for the exit, hoping to see Dustin in some other place.

* * *

"Finally" Dustin whispered to himself when he found the exit. The girl's dorm consists of multiple twists and turns. Even though he's been to this dorm countless times, he's never fully memorized it. Pacing towards it, the blonde boy crossed the street and into the grassy park of PCA.

PCA is a large school with numerous buildings. These buildings are so far apart that roads were constructed for use of cars. Normally, cars travel at a very slow pace, to avoid students walking idly by the road but once in a while, some reckless driver comes along, ignores the students and goes full throttle across the campus so Dustin looked left and right before crossing the street onto the park.

* * *

Zoey felt a mix of nervousness and joy when she saw her little brother crossing the street. Putting herself into overdrive, she ran towards him. "DUSTIN!!"…so excited was she, she did not notice a raging car headed towards her way.

Dustin turned around, hearing his sister call for him. Unlike Zoey, he was completely aware of his surroundings and was just in time to see Zoey cross the street. At the same time, he took notice of the raging car approaching his sister.

"ZOEY!!!" Dustin ran as fast as he could towards his sister in an attempt to save her from the car.

The car horns did little to calm Zoey's nerves as she finally saw the fast moving SUV heading towards her. All her muscles seemed to be paralyzed as the large car closed in on her.

* * *

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Lola asked Quinn, referring to Zoey and Dustin's present predicament.

Quinn merely shrugged "Don't worry, Dustin's not the type to hold grudges"

Their conversation was interrupted by a car horn followed by a scream of a girl. Both girls looked at each other with terrified expressions. All of a sudden, an eerie atmosphere enclosed the room, the feeling of death lingered in the air and the threat of deep sorrow was felt. Both girls don't know why but they felt a horrible twist in their stomachs. The gravity of the situation became greater for them when, after a few minutes, another scream was heard:

"_**DUUUUSTIIIIIIIIN!!!!!!!"**_

To be continued

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	3. Suffocation

**Disclaimer: I do not own "Zoey 101" nor do I own any of its characters**

**A/N: This is my first Zoey 101 story. This account is created under the observation that there is not much Dustin fantictions within the archive. **

**The Essence of Kinship**

**Suffocation**

"ZOEY!!!" Dustin ran as fast as he could towards his sister in an attempt to save her from the car…

_SCREEEEEEEEEECH!!!_

It's quite ironic…to thank the heavens the moment a speeding car collides with your body…

It's weird…to thank god as you feel your ribs crack, your organs punctured, your muscles damaged and 'see' yourself fly due to the impact. This was what Dustin thought and yet, he still thanked the heavens, he still thanked god that he was able to push his sister out of the way just in time to save her from the reckless SUV.

"…Dustin?!..." Zoey whispered in a squeaky tone, her eyes wide as the scene unfolded before her…

…

It's only natural…to curse the heavens when you see someone you love take the bullet for you…

It's only natural…to hate god when you see your little brother fly into the air as the SUV hit his teenage body, damaging him, hurting him, _killing_ him. This was what Zoey thought as she watched the scene before her. The scenario seems to play in her mind in slow motion, and in black and white. It took her a few minutes before the entire situation sank in her mind.

"_**DUUUUSTIIIIIIIIN!!!!!!!"**_

The SUV didn't stop…instead it gained speed, trying to escape the scene it left behind.

Zoey ran towards the scene where a considerable amount of people have gathered. She pushed people left and right until she reached the middle where the seemingly lifeless body of her brother lay.

* * *

"Was that…Zoey?" Lola looked at Quinn with a horrified expression. You don't have to be a genius to piece together the picture:

A car horn

A scream

The loud thump that can only mean a body hitting a car

Screeching Tires

Zoey's scream of a certain name

It all adds up to one conclusion…Dustin got ran over by a car!

Without wasting another second, both girls ran towards the exit of the room and towards the exit of the dorm, wanting, hoping against all hopes, that their conclusion is nothing more than a false hypothesis and that both Dustin and Zoey are okay.

* * *

"Dustin…? Dustin…?" Zoey's voice cracked as her tears fell like waterfalls…the head of her brother lying in her lap, clutched in between her hands, blood dripping over both sides of his mouth…his eyes are closed, his body limp…its seems as if he's already dead "DUSTIN PLEASE….OPEN YOUR EYES!!!"

"ZOEY, WHAT—" Lola's speech was interrupted as she covered her mouth and turned away from the sight before her…it was utterly heartbreaking.

"Dustin…" Quinn whispered as she saw the limp body of the blonde boy in the middle of the crowd. "SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE!!!"

"We already did" the familiar voice of Logan reached her ears as he, Michael and Chase approached them.

"Did you see what happened?" Quinn inquired, wanting to know how exactly a cautious person like Dustin would be hit by a car.

"He…uhh…he crossed the street rather smoothly…" Michael began, not really wanting to replay the incident "…Zoey went after him…but she…uhh…she didn't notice the car heading for her…"

"But Dustin did…" Chase continued "…and he ran towards Zoey and pushed her away…"

"Obviously at the cost of his own safety" Lola regained her composure, partially at least, and pieced two and two together.

The three boys nodded as they glanced at Zoey's direction…still cradling the head of her brother in her lap…still crying her eyes out…still begging for him to respond…

Eventually, the semi-comforting siren of the ambulance was heard and it reached its destination…

"EVERYONE RETURN TO YOUR CLASSES!!!" The dean shouted as soon as the ambulance arrived.

The students obeyed, though their eyes are still glued to the fascinatingly tragic scene before them, they eventually turned away in favor of obeying the dean who is now kneeling beside Zoey, with Lola, Quinn, Logan, Chase, Michael and the medical crew.

The ambulance doctors prepared themselves for the small tantrum they knew would come eventually. It is a common occurrence that a close relative, due to shock or emotional breakdown, would be most reluctant to let go of their loved one in fear of loosing them.

"Ma'am, he needs immediate medical attention…please let go of him" the nurse politely asked as the others tried to pry the weeping girl away from the dying boy.

Zoey furiously shook her head as she clutched Dustin's head tighter and tighter to her chest.

One of the doctors signaled to the other and they forcibly ripped the siblings apart.

"NO!!!" Zoey immediately yelled as the doctor handed her to her friends and they took Dustin to the ambulance, applying standard protocol procedures.

"DUSTIN!!! DUSTIN!!! DUUUSTIIIIIIN!!!" the blonde yelled as she struggled against her friends' clutches.

"ZOEY STOP!!!" Chase tried to calm her down "YOU CAN GO TO THE HOSPITAL ON A DIFFERENT RIDE BUT THEY CAN'T TAKE YOU!!"

They restrained the wrecked girl from running after the ambulance that is now speeding away with immense urgency.

It was a good 30 minutes before the group was able to convince Zoey to calm down and return to her room. It was easier to convince the dean to let her go outside campus and to the hospital, for obvious reasons, with Coco driving her.

* * *

"Zoey?" Quinn slowly approached the blonde, sitting numbly by the edge of her bed while Lola packed the things she might need later.

Zoey didn't know what to do. What to think. What to say. She feels so constricted. The air around her seemed to be thicker than an old, disgusting, viscous fluid. Her eyes are locked on a silver, pearl necklace that Dustin gave her for her birthday. She twirled the jewelry in the palm of her hands absentmindedly as she recalled the incidents of that day.

"You know the last thing I said to him?" Zoey began, her tone akin to that of a mindless zombie, not really referring to anyone in particular.

Both Quinn and Lola looked at their blonde friend sympathetically.

"Zoey…" the scientist began but the seemingly deranged woman cut her off.

"I told him…" the blonde broke down in tears, lowering her head even further "…I told him that he was bugging me…" her tears fell down like the waters of the Niagara Falls "I yelled at him _on his birthday!!!_" she looked up to meet Quinn's eyes "AND THEN I KILLED HIM!!! I KILLED HIM QUINN!!! WHAT KIND OF A SISTER DOES THAT TO HER BROTHER?!!! AND ON HIS BIRTHDAY NONETHELESS!!!"

"It was an accident" the bespectacled woman whispered, her tone sympathetic and caring.

Zoey is just a big ball of tears as she lightly banged her head on Quinn's shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably.

The young scientist hushed her devastated friend, offering her shoulder as a support column as the subject in question broke down in tears. No more words were needed as the three let silence fall upon them, like the dark abyss of the ocean…frightening, eerie, uncomfortable, claustrophobic…suffocating.

To be continued

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